Tajikistan has a vast unmet demand for electricity and severe load shedding occurs. Despite high connection rates (99 percent), approximately seventy percent of the population, predominantly in rural areas and small towns, faces severe electricity shortages... Подробнее +Tajikistan has a vast unmet demand for electricity and severe load shedding occurs. Despite high connection rates (99 percent), approximately seventy percent of the population, predominantly in rural areas and small towns, faces severe electricity shortages each winter. Demand for electricity is unusually high in Tajikistan because there are limited alternative options for heating, especially in urban areas. Addressing winter energy shortages requires measures to reduce domestic demand, increase domestic supply, and expand regional electricity trade. Consumer acceptability of further measures to promote cost recovery in the energy sector appears to be affected by poor service quality and the lack of transparency on the flow of revenues and expense of Barki Tajik, the main electricity utility provider in Tajikistan. The evidence for developing a well-informed energy strategy for the residential sector in Tajikistan is hampered by a lack of detailed understanding of how households currently are affected by energy deprivation and how this differs across population groups. This study aims at identifying and assessing options for improving household energy security and affordability in the short term and medium term, with a particular focus on low and middle income households in rural and also in urban areas in Tajikistan. Data for this study were collected in the field during the spring and summer of 2013 and include both qualitative and quantitative information. The report is structured as follows: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two describes recent developments in the energy sector since independence and presents energy consumption patterns in residential and social buildings. Chapter three discusses seasonal household energy expenditures across a range of population groups and willingness to pay for higher tariffs. Chapter four describes the prevalent strategies households use in order to cope with energy costs, as well as willingness and capacity to engage in energy saving measures. Chapter five discusses available social assistance programs and options for further mitigation of electricity tariff increase. Chapter six presents results from policy simulations of different tariff increase scenarios and social assistance measures and discusses the pros and cons of policy options. Chapter seven summarizes key findings and policy recommendations.
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